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| Erick T. Byrd Assistant Professor Department of Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality Management The University of North Carolina at Greensboro PO Box 26170 Greensboro, NC 27402 Voice: 336-334-3041 Fax: 336-334-3238 etbyrd@uncg.edu |
Community Outreach Interests
My interests center on rural community tourism development. I have worked with many groups and organizations in North Carolina, including Greensboro Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Johnston County Visitors Bureau, and Central Park NC. I am very interested in assisting communities with identifying and inventorying tourism resources, marketing those resources, and practicing sustainable tourism development. In my Destination Management class, student groups are assigned a county in North Carolina to identify and inventory its tourism resources and then develop a strategic plan for that community based on those resources. Many of the groups have submitted and presented their plans to the counties, including Randolph County, Davidson County, and Montgomery County.
Research Interests
My current research interests focus on stakeholder understanding of and involvement in the sustainable tourism development process. This focus has lead me and colleagues to begin the development of a tool to measure a community's understanding of sustainable tourism principles. This research will help communities identify issues that community members need a better understanding of to make informed decisions about current and potential tourism development in their community. In addition, I am interested in the impacts tourism has on the community and the natural environment.
Notable Publications
Byrd, Erick. T., D. A. Cardenas, and J. B. Greenwood. In Press. "Factors of Stakeholder Understanding of Tourism: The Case of Eastern North Carolina." Tourism and Hospitality Research.
Byrd, Erick. T., L. Duffy, and N. G. Gladwell. In Press. "Ecotourism in Rural America." Encyclopedia of Rural America, 2nd edition. Gray House Publishing.
Byrd, Erick. T. and L. D. Gustke. 2007. "Using decision trees to segment tourism stakeholders: The case of eastern North Carolina." Tourism and Hospitality Research, 7(3-4), 176-193.
Byrd, Erick. T. 2007. "Stakeholders in sustainable tourism and their role: Applying stakeholder theory to sustainable development." Tourism Review, 62(2), 6-13.
Byrd, Erick. T. and L. D. Gustke. 2004. "Identifying tourism stakeholder groups based on support for sustainable tourism development and participation in tourism activities." In Pineda, F. D. and C. A. Brebbia (eds.), Sustainable Tourism: The sustainable world. London: WIT Press. Pp. 97-108.
Courses
HTM 352 Destination Management
RPM 423 Meeting & Event Planning & Management
HTM 463 Sustainable Tourism Development
